A 1,500-year-old Mongolian mummy discovered in Siberia sporting a pair of ‘Adidas shoes’ has triggered the rumour of time-travel being a thing.

The ‘Adidas’ shoes found with the mummy. Photo credits: Khovd Museum.

The patterns on the shoes (pictured above) do look familiar, right? Much like those on Adidas sneakers. Are they really evidence of time travel being real? To whom did this mummy wearing Adidas shoes belong to anyway?

Spotted in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, in a 3-metre-deep burial site situated at an altitude of 2,800 metres, beside the remains of a mare (female horse), and the head of a sheep, it makes for a striking discovery, specially because of the extremely well-preserved belongings. The findings are thought to provide further insight into the lives of the people (their creed and rituals) living at that time in that region of the world, Turkiks, who comprised of several ethnic groups living in Central Asia all the way to Siberia in 6th century BC, as per the statements of researcher B. Sukhbaatar to The Siberian Times. It is also considered to be an important discovery because it might just be the first complete burial of a Turkik individual ever to be found, say the archaeologists.

Why the dead horse, you might ask. Turkik nomads would actually be buried with their horses; the latter would be killed after their death. The fact that our newly-discovered mummy was buried with only one horse suggests that he (or she, the gender is not yet confirmed) was not of the wealthy. This perspective is interesting because it would also mean that individuals of modest wealth could still afford well-made shoes.

Other belongings included a pair of saddle and bridle covered in embroidery, cotton coats, an embroidered bag, pillows, and iron kettle, among others. Yes, indeed, the ‘poor person’ did own a number of things.

The belongings. Photo credits: Khovd Museum.

Well, if people not so well-off from that era could own all these things, it is not surprising that they could also afford ‘Adidas’ shoes. No evidence of time travel there!